The US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service has published a Food Environment Atlas of the US, which provides a spatial overview of a community’s ability to access health food and its success in doing so.
The Atlas assembles statistics on three broad categories of food environment factors:
Food Choices: Indicators of the community's access to and acquisition of healthy, affordable food, such as: access and proximity to a grocery store; number of foodstores and restaurants; expenditures on fast foods; food and nutrition assistance program participation; quantities of foods eaten; food prices; food taxes; and availability of local foods
Health and Well-Being: Indicators of the community’s success in maintaining healthy diets, such as: food insecurity; diabetes and obesity rates; and physical activity levels
Community Characteristics: Indicators of community characteristics that might influence the food environment, such as: demographic composition; income and poverty; population loss; metro-nonmetro status; natural amenities; and recreation and fitness centers
The Atlas currently includes 168 indicators of the food environment. You can see the atlas here.
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